Gov. Kelly Armstrong, by his own admission, went out on a limb when he backed a slate of traditional Republican candidates this primary season against a populist faction that has captured control of the NDGOP and censured him, twice.
The gamble paid off. Armstrong-backed candidates made nearly a clean sweep in the primaries, but if you ask the governor about it, all the credit goes to the candidates.
"They knocked doors. They handed out palm cards. They didn't cut Facebook videos. They didn't complain," he said. "They went out there. They did the hard work it takes to win an election and they talked about moving North Dakota forward, not how bad they hated North Dakota. That's not what North Dotans want to hear."
Armstrong was also critical of the excuses coming from the populist faction about why they lost the election. "Three things I've learned today. One is it's pretty hard to complain about turnout when you think a group of 30 people should decide who your candidate is," he said. "Two, anybody who disagrees with the opposing side is an uneducated voter. And three, anybody who disagrees with them is a is a special interest."
"How about quit making excuses, quit being a victim, go win elections," he added. "Go out there and do the work."
Armstrong also addressed populists -- particularly activist Brandon Prichard, whose group Citizens Alliance of North Dakota was very active in the primary -- trying to align with him in the last days of the election. "It's too cute by half by somebody who thinks he's smarter than everybody else," the governor said.
Also on this episode, me and co-host Chad Oban analyze the primary results from around the state, as well as the mayoral and city commission races in Fargo.
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